Thomas Kibble Hervey, born in 1799, was widely recognized by his peers and colleagues as a talented writer in many different disciplines. From poetry to criticism, Hervey established himself as a popular writer during his life. Two of Hervey’s earliest poems appear in The Bijou, a gift book published in 1828. “Song” and “Anacreontic,” both published for the first time in The Bijou, exemplify his talented, and popular, writing style that stretched beyond poetry. Along with popular poetry, Hervey is noted for his biographical works, including several exhaustive (and exhausting) volumes written about Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, and Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson. As an important figure in popular literature, Hervey often wrote critiques of love and marriage, history, and most importantly, social conditions, which appealed to the lower classes.

Hervey was published often and, during the peak of his popularity, he married Eleanora Lousia Montagu in 1843. From 1830 to 1853, he continuously published poetry in anthologies and accumulated an astonishing number of published works. He was most influential as editor of The Athenaeum from 1846 to 1853, which was a magazine devoted to popular poetry and critical reviews. Montagu was published in her husband’s magazinein 1846, she wrote and published “A Display of Heraldry.” Other important works written and published by Hervey include “Critique on the Critic” (1848), “An Essay on Physiology and the Sense of Feeling” (1852), and “Poetry for the Million” (1843). Hervey’s earliest works may have been published in The Bijou, because his success as a popular writer was not established until 1830 when he began writing professionally. His death in 1859 appeared to end his popularity as well, because nothing was published posthumously and he has since faded into obscurity.

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